“Art of the Formula 1 Race Car” – read the review and win one of five copies

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Art of the Formula 1 Race Car

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year I got talking to James Mann, a photographer who told me he’d been doing studio shots of classic F1 cars for an upcoming book.

“Art of the Formula 1 Race Car” is the product of that work, a study of 18 of the most important, interesting and, often, beautiful F1 cars ever to be raced.

Publisher Motorbooks put out a similar title only last year – “Legendary Race Cars”, reviewed here in December. But “Art of the Formula 1 Race Car” is a much more successful (and F1-centric) execution of the concept.

The 18 cars have been chosen with a degree of imagination. As well the ‘usual suspects’ – Maserati 250F, McLaren MP4/4, Williams FW14 – there are some more unusual and curious additions.

Jack Brabham’s BT20, for instance, and Adrian Newey’s Leyton House-Judd CG901. That turquoise car may never have won a race – though it certainly came close – but the detailed study of this 20 year-old car tells you a lot about why the Red Bull RB6 is the car to beat this year.

From the faintly prehistoric front-engined machines of the 1950s, through the ground effect and turbo eras, right up to F1’a aerodynamic pinnacle in 2008, “Art of the Formula 1 Race Car” takes in the full breadth of F1 car design through the decades.

F1 journalist Stuart Codling gives an expert view on both the historical and technical stories behind each car, often with fascinating details on how design decisions about the cars were made.

The “commentary by Gordon Murray” advertised on the cover starts off well but by the later pages it’s clear at what point he lost interest in F1 car design. The later cars get just a couple of sentences each. A pity, as I’d like to have heard more of his trenchant views on the “dead end” of active suspension and traction control, and the “ugly” generation of F1 cars in the 2000s.

But it’s the sumptuous photography that really makes the book. Each car is brought to life in page after after page of close-up pictures exposing their intricacies fabulous detail. If F1 car technology is your thing, you simply have to buy this book.

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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47 comments on ““Art of the Formula 1 Race Car” – read the review and win one of five copies”

  1. Is our real name or F1F nickname required?

    1. Real name.

      1. OK well on the off chance I win a copy, I just thought I’d say I used my screen name.

        1. Same goes for me

          1. i liked the 2000´s generation it seems that the loosers cant understand the beauty of that era the pinnacle of f1 and it was my 1st decade since im 17 i started watching in 98 it has special value

  2. will the info be used for marketing purposes or destroyed after the draw has taken place?

  3. Sounds like an excellent book, hope I’m one of the lucky five!

  4. how many times can a person submit their answer?

    :D

    1. Once – see the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page.

  5. When’s the closing date.?

  6. I would really appreciate it if you would answer the questions Kieth.

    1. Most if not all the answers are in the terms and conditions at the end of the competition.

      Competition terms and conditions

      1. Maximum one entry per household.
      2. The competition is not open to employees, friends or family of F1 Fanatic or Motorbooks.
      3. Closing date for entries is midnight (GMT) on Friday 23rd April 2010.
      4. In the event of a dispute the editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
      5. No cash alternative is offered for any of the prizes.
      6. Players who have won prizes will be notified by email within seven days and prizes will be dispatched within 28 days of that email being sent.

  7. LucaBadoerFan
    12th April 2010, 13:59

    this sounds like an interesting read, i may pick up a copy sometime down the line, if i’m not one of the winning five. thanks for the review, keith.

  8. Ach, curses – wish I’d known about this competition before I bought the book! Never mind, it was money well spent anyway. The photography is superb and Stuart Codling’s historical & technical input is fascinating.
    Good luck with the competition you lot, but if you don’t get lucky I do strongly recommend you part with some hard-earned and go out and buy it – it really is very good.

  9. what is the size of the book? are there any pictures in it that can be framed in a4 size??

  10. This may be a good book to pick up even if I don’t win. Might be a little tough finding it in the states though…gotta look at Amazon.

  11. I absolutely adore that Leyton House Judd CG901! A fantastic bit of Newey design. I’m not at all surprised that it gets a mention. I think I may have made it one of my picks for most beautiful F1 car ever in one of the forum discussions.

    1. Oh I dunno, there’s something about that Jordan 191… Fabulous looking car.

    2. Did you see these pictures of it at Goodwood last year?

      F1 cars, post-1980 (Goodwood Festival of Speed pictures)

      1. I saw it in person at Goodwood last year :)

  12. Hi everyone.

    I’m sorry to say there’s been a problem with the contact form and it’s possible not all the entries have been received. If you sent an entry via the contact form I advise you to send a fresh entry to compeition@f1fanatic.co.uk as well to make sure it is received. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    1. Keith, I sent a guest article request through the contact form last week, has that been swallowed up in the system too or are you just considering it / haven’t read it / have rejected the idea?

      1. Same question from me too! :-)

  13. Don’t worry about it Keith :)
    The link doesn’t work for me -I imagine my laptop is having a stroppy moment- is it possible to just send an email to that address or does it definately have to be through the link? Any help would be greatly appreciated and sorry for taking up your time.

    1. Yeah just email that address.

  14. Is the competition open to those outside the UK?

  15. Saw that book in singapore and had a brief flip through. It was awesome!

  16. Hey Keith, I had to send two emails because I accidentally (and stupidly) forgot to put my name and address! Hope I don’t get disqualified =X

  17. DamionShadows
    12th April 2010, 17:26

    I purchased the book the day it came out from Amazon and I loved it ( granted I skipped most of it just to read about the MP4-23). If anyone has the chance to buy it, i’m sure it wouldn’t disappoint.

  18. @NomadIndian

    Wouldn’t be fair just to let UK residents have a chance to win it

  19. okay keith I’ve re-sent the answer via that e-mail

    is this competition open to all F1Fanatic worldwide?

  20. Cheers for the opportunity to win Keith, it looks a great read. I think Will Buxton has a similarly praising review up on his blog too

  21. Oh, ffs! LOL
    I entered, then read the comments.

    So, to make sure, I re-clicked and
    entered again.

    Then I read I may be DQ’ed! lol

    Oh, well. On the plus side, I not
    only knew the answer without the link,
    but rememberred why the answer was the
    answer (if that makes sense!) lol.

    Not bad for an olde guy, eh? ;)

  22. This looks like a must have to me. I hope to win it, otherwise i put it on the birthday list

  23. I was reading about this book on a quality newspapers website this morning and it was well received…

  24. Saw the book in Kuala Lumpur. Looks pretty awesome. I hope they make a sequel featuring other cars that were left out like the West Mclarens, the Mild Seven Renaults, Schumi’s Benettons, etc.

  25. I was planning on buying this book as well! It really looks like a great book to have

  26. since this looks like a very good one, i’ve placed pre-orders at amazon in February and now waiting for it to arrive… supposedly sometimes this week ;-) yaaay!!!

  27. christopher (sennaboy3)
    13th April 2010, 10:34

    i received mine yesterday…top notch. great pics of the cars. very detailed. nice cockpit shots, engines, lots of angles. brief histories & some nice historic facts, ie. race wins, debuts, drivers, etc. only yet a quick flip through, so looking forward to a good sit down.

    1. i’m with you, couldn’t agree more. glad with my pre-order decision hahaha ;-)

  28. On the Amazon.com site, you can view the opening pages of the book, including a few photos of the Alfa Romeo 158/159.
    http://www.amazon.com/Art-Formula-1-Race-Car/dp/0760337314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271237534&sr=8-1

  29. i just got my copy, absolutely stunning book, writings good, not too geared(excuse the pun) towards f1 newcomers but the photography is unbelievably good. its almost pronographic! worth every penny though watch if you buy from Amazon for less than £30 as mine wasnt quite in perfect nick. Murrays comments are quite a laugh as well, hes so biased towards what he likes or deems “proper”

  30. not sure what “pronographic” is but i of course meant “pornographic”

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